• Forgetting to Tilt the Head Back

One mistake that some people administering CPR sometimes make is forgetting to tilt the head back to make sure that the airway remains open. A person’s airway is constricted if the head is positioned towards the chest, making it difficult for air to flow into the lungs. The proper position of the head during CPR is propped and tilted slightly towards the person’s back. One way to ensure that the head is positioned correctly and that the airway is open is to check if the nose is pointing towards the ceiling or the sky.

• Forgetting to Count the Number of Compressions Out Loud

Counting out loud is important when doing chest compressions but it’s also something that people forget to do. This step is important because in the event that the emergency responder is too exhausted to continue with chest compressions, someone else can seamlessly take over. CPR is done in a fast and aggressive pace. Thirty chest compressions only take approximately 18 seconds, the two breaths that follow take about a second each and then the cycle begins again. The emergency responder relieving the other person should know the count so that when he or she jumps in, they know how many compressions are left before giving breaths. A mistake would mean oxygen levels going down and blood not reaching the necessary internal organs.

• Not Enough Pressure Used During Chest Compressions

During CPR courses, students are taught that when doing chest compressions, the responder pushes their full weight on the patient to make sure that the pressure goes deep enough and reaches the heart. One way to ensure that chest compressions are being done correctly is to watch and check if the chest rises considerably when a breath is pushed in. The responder should also remember to keep their hands steady and in place so rescue breaths and compressions can resume immediately. The CPR cycle shouldn’t stop until the patient exhibits some response or professional medical personnel arrive. Using an AED should be left to professionals.

CPR is undoubtedly one important way to keep someone alive. It’s a core skill that more and more people are learning. Training to get first aid certification is easier now as more government agencies and health institutions are offering it. If you’re interested in learning how to save lives, there are numerous St Mark James courses that you can take advantage of.

The post Top 3 Mistakes When Performing CPR appeared first on First Aid Certification.

Heart attacks are often confused with cardiac arrests but these are two very different things.

A heart attack is defined as an obstruction to the blood supply to the heart muscle, for example, a clot in a coronary artery. This means oxygen can’t get to the heart and therefore the tissue in the heart starts to die.

However, a cardiac arrest is a malfunction in the electrical activity in the heart, which causes it to have an abnormal rhythm or stop. This means blood and oxygen is not able to be pumped around the body and the person is effectively dead. However, with rapid and effective First Aid, the person can sometimes be revived, although survival rates are low.

HEART ATTACK

Firstly, you must learn to recognise the symptoms of a heart attack. Often patients have persistent, vice-like central chest pain which can spread to the jaw and down one or both arms. Some complain of breathlessness and discomfort in the upper abdomen like indigestion. Patients appear ashen, sometimes with blue lips, and clammy or profuse sweating. When assessed, the patients pulse will be rapid, weak or irregular.

St Mark James Training teaches that the patient should be made as comfortable as possible in order to ease the strain on the heart. A sitting position with the patients’ knees bent is recommended in First Aid Classes.

If available, St Mark James Training states giving the patient aspirin (300mg) to chew is best treatment, if the patient is fully conscious. Any angina medication the patient may have could also be helpful to ease pain and assist the patient to rest whilst waiting for the emergency services.

Depending on the extent of the damage, a heart attack can lead to a cardiac arrest, although some people can recover from heart attacks completely. This is where it is useful to have First Aid Certification so you can help someone in this situation and give them the best chance at recovery. First Aid from the St Mark James also teaches CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation).

If the patient becomes unconscious, the First Aider needs to open the airway and check the patients’ breathing, and be prepared to start chest compressions and rescue breaths if necessary.

CARDIAC ARREST

In a cardiac arrest, the patient will be unconscious, not breathing and have no pulse. St Mark James Training teaches you to check for a response by speaking loud and clear and shaking the patients shoulders. If there is no response, check the patients’ breathing. Open the airway by placing one hand on their forehead and using your fingers under their chin to tilt their head back.  You can then listen and feel for their breathing by putting your ear by their mouth and look at their chest for any movement. If they are not breathing, ring the emergency services and start chest compressions.

Automated External Defibrillators (AED) are available in many public areas and can be used to correct the abnormal heart rhythm and restart the heart. Chest compressions should be continued until the defibrillator is prepared and attached.

First Aid and CPR classes give informative and more detailed advice and instructions to equip First Aiders with the knowledge to make a difference in life threatening situations.

The post Heart Attack vs Cardiac Arrest appeared first on First Aid Certification.